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I like to keep a few quick meal ideas around for week nights when I don't have a lot of time to cook and this stir-fry is one of them. Really this recipe is more of a guideline where you can use whatever meat and vegetables that you want. You can also play around with the flavours by using different sauces. This time I went with asparagus because I had a bunch of it in the fridge and some chicken that I had in the freezer. I like adding nuts to dishes like this and the cashews were definitely invited to the party. I would normally make this with the garlic as stated in the recipe but this time I actually used some ramps or wild leeks as I had them on hand as well. Stir-fry's come together quickly so I like to have all of the ingredients chopped and at the ready. That means that the meat usually only gets to marinate for as long as it takes my to get everything else ready. The cooking takes very little time so this meal is usually on your plate in well under 30 minutes. Quick, simple and tasty; just the way I like it. I normally serve this on brown rice but you could easily replace swap in noodles, etc.

Asparagus and Cashew Chicken Stir-fry

Servings: 4

ingredients

1 pound chicken breast (cut into bite sized pieces)

1 teaspoon garlic (grated)

1 teaspoon ginger (grated)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon Shao Xing Chinese cooking wine (or cooking sherry)

1 teaspoon of the cornstarch

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon oil

1 pound asparagus (cleaned, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces)

2 green onions (sliced)

1 teaspoon garlic (grated)

1 teaspoon ginger (grated)

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 handful cashews (toasted)

directions

Marinate the chicken in the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, Shao Xing and corn starch at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a pan.

Add the chicken and saute until just cooked, about 3 minutes and set aside.

Heat the oil in a pan.

Add the asparagus, the white parts of the green onions, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes and saute for 3 minutes.

Mix the corn starch into the stock and add it to the asparagus along with the soy sauce.

Add the chicken and simmer until the sauce thickens, a few minutes.

Remove from heat ad mix in the sesame oil.

Serve over brown rice and garnish with cashews and the green parts of the green onions.

Kevin, I just discovered your blog while looking for a recipe for clafoutis. I hadn't made it since last year and needed to refresh my memory on order of ingredients. You have a superb site so I bookmarked it. I've been cooking great food in small kitchens for many years! Funny how so many mediocre cooks have big kitchens and pro stoves they don't use. LOL

I mad this last night because I had some asparagus that needed using, and also some cilantro (which I figured wouldn't hurt anything). It was great - I didn't have much green onion, but the added cilantro and a squeeze of lime at the end added up to something stellar. (Also, I used chicken thigh meat because thighs were on sale, and cooked it just a bit longer.) Thanks for the inspiration!

Great recipe - can't wait to give it a try! I've never stir-fried asparagus before, but I've seen other recipes that blanch the asparagus first before adding to the stir-fry. It looks like you added yours straight up - were you using thinner asparagus?

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About Me

I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.